Rumbling Stomach
by Nienyan
Summary: As much as Jude enjoys cooking with Ludger, he wonders how to deal with his tomato obsession.


**A/N:** Written for the prompt "Ludger and Jude hanging out" as part of Talesmas 2014.

**Rumbling Stomach**

"Jude, can you peel a couple more tomatoes? I think we might not have enough."

Ludger's request almost made Jude drop his knife. _More_ tomatoes? He had peeled two dozens already!

"Um, Ludger," he began, flashing an awkward smile, "Are you sure we're going to need more? Won't the taste be too overpowering?"

Ludger shook his head. "The last thing we want is a bland soup, Jude. Trust me, we need more."

Resigned, Jude picked two more tomatoes from the huge pile next to him. He wouldn't be surprised if they went through the whole stack by the time they were done making dinner. As much as he enjoyed cooking with Ludger - it became a hobby, getting together every weekend and preparing a delicious meal - he was getting tired of his friend's obsession with tomatoes. Tonight, on top of the tomato soup, they would be serving caprese salad, pasta margherita, and tomato _ice cream_. Jude still wasn't over that last one - who in their right mind would make ice cream out of a vegetable? Sure, Ludger insisted tomatoes were fruit, but Jude knew better than that.

He had debated how he could approach Ludger on the subject, tell him that the whole tomato deal was becoming too much. But how to word it without upsetting Ludger? _'Hey, I know tomatoes are your favorite food in the entire world, but let's stop cooking with them.'_ The effect would be as bad as kicking Rollo!

Maybe he could bribe all the grossers in Trigleph to hide their tomatoes from Ludger? Develop and unleash a tomato plague? Train Rollo so he would eat all the tomatoes in the house before they had a chance to cook with them? That would make him even fatter, though…

"Jude…? Are you okay?"

Jude all but jumped in surprise. "S-Sorry, I spaced out for a moment."

Ludger smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "You spent the entire day at work. If you're too tired, you can rest for a bit, and I'll take care of everything. Don't worry, you'll still get to eat even if you don't cook."

Jude flashed an awkward smile. "Thank you, Ludger. I'm fine, though." Really, eating was always the worst part of their meetings. Everything tasted too… tomato-y.

"I'll peel these for you, anyway," Ludger said, taking the knife from Jude's hand. "You know, I was thinking, we could make some sweet tomato sauce to go with the ice cream. Do you think it would taste better warm or chilled?"

Jude's reply came in the form of forced laughter.

"Jude? Why are you laughing?"

The laughter stopped abruptly. "W-Wasn't that a joke?"

"No. Why would it be?"

Eyes wide and mouth half-open, Jude stared up at Ludger. "N-Never mind."

Ludger raised an eyebrow, and began peeling a tomato. "So. Warm or chilled?"

Jude suppressed a sigh. "I guess chilled would be best."

Hopefully, the cold would numb his tastebuds.

* * *

><p>The rest of the night was uneventful. They finished preparing the meal, and ate it by themselves - while they invited their friends now and then, more often than not it was only the two of them. Thanks to Ludger's company, Jude managed a few bites; the smile on Ludger's face was worth the sacrifice. Still, when his stomach rumbled a few hours later as he went to bed, Jude made a decision: next week, he would talk to Ludger about their tomato problem.<p>

The day before their date, however, Jude received a text messaged from Ludger. It read _'I know it's supposed to be your turn to buy the ingredients, but I have some free time now, so I'll pick them up myself. Seeya tomorrow!'_ The message was likely bad news - Jude anticipated even more tomatoes than usual. If it was even possible, that is.

The following afternoon, when Jude was getting ready to leave for Ludger's apartment, he received another text. _'I'm kinda late. Can we push it back 30 min or so?'_ The request made Jude frown - Ludger had never been late for their cooking dates before. Still, he texted back an _'okay'_ and sat to do some work while he waited.

Exactly thirty minutes after the originally scheduled time, Jude knocked on Ludger's door.

"Coming!"

Jude waited. It took five whole minutes and multiple more yells of _'Coming!'_ before Ludger actually came. Jude hoped the neighbors wouldn't misinterpret the strange yelling.

The door opened to reveal a flustered - but smiling - Ludger. "Sorry for that," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's fine. Are you okay, though? You have—" Jude's voice faded as his nose caught a familiar scent.

Miso soup.

Immediately, he stepped inside, walking past a perplexed Ludger. On the dinner table, two steaming bowls held a pale yellow broth in which large white chunks - tofu - floated.

Frozen, Jude stared at the bowls. "You made my favorite food," he muttered.

"Last time, I thought it looked like you were getting a little tired of tomatoes," Ludger said, placing a hand on Jude's shoulder. "I'm sorry that I kept forcing them on you. It was selfish of me. I hope I can make up for it."

Jude's expression brightened into a wide smile. He almost laughed; before he walked in, he was terrified Ludger was planning on stuffing him with even more tomatoes than usual, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. "Thank you, Ludger. The soup looks delicious."

Ludger returned Jude's smile with a grin. "It's only an appetizer, though. We're _both_ going to prepare the main course, and there'll be no tomatoes. I promise."

Still smiling, they took their places on the table, and began to eat.

* * *

><p>Little did Jude know, in a few weeks from then, Ludger would be showing him his new creation: tomato miso soup. And, to his own surprise, Jude would love it.<p> 


End file.
